Having worn skirts as feminine drag in the past, this vlogger now questions how gender-neutrally this article of clothing can be presented.

My Girly Man, originally uploaded by dimmuborgirly.

Someone wrote…

Why has language developed so that in order to refer to a person one must first determine their gender? Male or female, boy or girl, his or her – a ridiculous social construction that has little to do with one’s genitalia, participatory ability in reproduction or mental-orientation, and more to do with a societal expectation of the roles you should play in the world. What craziness.

How would you change language to reflect a gender that is not a “ridiculous social construction”?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

You can call me… Master Thespian. … just joshing — the name is Evelyn.

I identify as… Awesome. It’s what I get called a lot, and is reaffirming. As far as gender identity, I like to incorporate a bit of everything… genderqueer gentlemanly glamazon, thank you very much.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … I look female, and am regarded as such. Though I am saddened by the way people (especially of the queer variety) judge my character based on superficiality.

I wish there were a wider range of pronouns in the English language! None of ’em really befit me. Meh. Fuck gender. In the ass. =)

I’m attracted to… Androgyny. Butch people. An inherent ‘masculinity’. Also, people who bite, and could take me on (physically speaking).

When people talk about me, I want them to… Smile.

I want people to understand… that we are all devo! stop making sense. being a prisoner of your mind is this life’s worst punishment. pay more attention to why and how you make judgements, and become aware of sociocultural constructs.

About Evelyn
University student in Toronto, ON, Canada. Studying English and Music theory. Broke. I don’t like it here. I want community; I want family. Honesty and goodness are all I know — Writing is my expression of love to the world. I gain strength by overcoming my fear a little more each _______. I love love love the community and expression the internet has made possible — we are the future.

Final0600-web, originally uploaded by VicImHorrorland.

Identity TBD wrote…

The better I understand my gender, the more incomprehensible I appear to others. Still, that’s preferable to being recognizable as something I am not.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

This American Life, 29 minutes into the show (Act Two)… the most amazing story. I’m in tears… Go listen.

The Homepage

The Audio

xo,
sarah

(p.s. thank you melissa and devilcrayon for telling me about this.)

Gaypride Paris 2008 (Marche des Fiertés) – Eating BarbaCandy, originally uploaded by Ipsoz.

goodbye, originally uploaded by memorae.

You can call me… Quinn

I identify as… a human being. I don’t actually ‘identify’ as much of anything. I have female biological bits and I always wear skirts, but my brain’s mental processes are a lot more traditionally masculine.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … I use ‘she’ and ‘her’. I wouldn’t necessarily be offended if people used male pronouns with me, but I think it’s a bit silly.

I’m attracted to… intelligent, funny women, mostly. I’ve been attracted to a few guys, but it’s not typical. A witty, bookish, geeky woman will get a whole lot of attention from me.

When people talk about me, I want them to… see me as a human being, and not as a stereotype. I’m female, I’m in love with a woman, but that does not mean that I do this or that. I don’t want to be thought of as a woman or a man, I just want to be Quinn.

I want people to understand… that it doesn’t matter what bits people have. People should be seen as humans, not as males or females, because honestly, there really is no inherent difference. I hope that one day people will stop seeing things as black and white and start seeing the grey areas.

About Quinn
Hi! I’m Quinn. I’m a writer, a lover, a reader, and a dreamer among other things. I love talking to people about anything and everything, and discussing gender theory. One day, I hope to be able to help people work through their gender and sexuality as a friend.

Alex, originally uploaded by teukiechul.

Scott wrote…

I honestly think gender should be an antiquated subject by now. Why should people be worrying so much about what happens to be stashed in someone’s pants/up someone’s skirt? People are far too interesting to be classified that way.

Why isn’t gender antiquated yet? What is preventing our global culture from moving beyond gender? How long do you think it will take before gender is passé?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

A fun gender play project. Feel free to sing along :)

Olgazmick, originally uploaded by Strangelfreak.

Someone wrote…

I think my parents should quit shoving their double standards down my throat. If I have to dress to show off my body, why shouldn’t my brothers have to do the same?

How does gender inequality play a role in your androgyny? How do you deal with the double standard? What standards are men held up to that women should be subjected to as well?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

You can call me… Alana

I identify as… a differently gendered woman breaking free of society’s standards. I am genderqueer; to me, this means that there are parts of myself that are considered feminine and parts that aren’t, but I’d rather break free of dichotomy than be ruled by it.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … I have no preference

I’m attracted to… people who are smart, kind, honest, and understanding.

When people talk about me, I want them to… not make assumptions. Assumptions and rumors are unfair to everyone.

I want people to understand… I love the body I was born into. My body isn’t changing, it’s my perception of my body that is changing.

About Alana
What do I want to be by age 25? Happy. By age 35? Still learning. By age 50? Without regret.

Early Lesbian Style, originally uploaded by Earthworm.

Earthworm is inspired by Patti Smith, “the lesbian icon of the late ’70s”. She writes, “I’m wearing my dad’s shirt. All of his shirts were custom made; this one in Hong Kong. The tie was his too. And those are Levi’s which were the only jeans worth wearing at the time.”

Jonathon wrote…

Can we just do away with gender-based pronouns? It’d make life so much easier. Hell, why can’t we all be a single biological gender, and then dress however the hell we want? If I were a mad scientist, that would be my plot.

Would you enjoy a homogenous gendered world, where all people are the same gender? How would we reproduce?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

I love how clearly kids see things. Does anyone else have a good quote from a kid’s take on gender?

WOW, it was wonderful meeting up with Texan Genderforkers on Sunday. So inspiring to connect and talk about what life is like down here in the land of cowboy hats and large belt buckles for folks who don’t fit neatly into a gender box. I learned a lot (and was handed a brilliant idea for a new feature on the site, so stay tuned for that)!

And now I’m getting nudges from wonderful people in other places about having meetups in their towns, too. We need to hang out with each other more. Got it. Let’s keep thinking about this…

A few thoughts come immediately to mind…

I’ll be speaking at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania on April 9th about ambiguity in gender and sexuality (and will include some content from this site in that talk). If you’ll be in that area, please email me for more details.

If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have the almost-equivalent of a Genderfork meetup once a month. It’s called the Queer Open Mic (I’m a co-host), and it’s currently running every fourth friday at Modern Times Bookstore. The crowd is really, truly wonderful, and it has been my second family for a few years now. I hope you can make it sometime.

There’s an awesome queer/genderqueer all-cities community calendar getting started now called The Queerist.  I strongly encourage you to post local events to it (it provides GORGEOUS description pages that you can direct people to for your event), and check it regularly for things in your area.

Knowing each other makes everything else we do much easier. I look forward to meeting more of you.

Love,
Sarah